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Abstract:
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This dissertation contributes to the existing body of knowledge on how we design computer
systems, particularly multiuser software for knowledge sharing and creation in globally
diffused companies. This is achieved by conducting a work place study of a global industrial
engineering conglomerate which has the strategy of working with knowledge in the form of
“best practices” meant to boost performance. The thesis explores the situation that workers
are in, since they are meant to share and develop “best practices” knowledge in a portal
based Knowledge Management System (KMS). The study indentifies a set of problems that
prevents knowledge sharing from taking place to the degree to which management was
specifically aiming. It was explored whether these problems could, to some degree, be
mitigated by employing persuasive design, which is a new stance towards design where the
aim is to directly seek to change the user’s behavior, i.e., persuading more knowledge
sharing.
The main contribution is an indication of an anomaly with regards to the strategic
approach towards knowledge management, where knowledge sharing is seen as an effort by
which companies can gain a competitive advantage by working with knowledge in a
structured fashion. The issue is that the descriptions found in literature on strategic
knowledge management do not address the many issues uncovered when conducting
prolonged fieldwork among workers who engage in the activities that the literature
seemingly takes for granted. Thus, many practical problems were uncovered that would
need some level of mitigation before a company could hope to gain a strategic advantage
from working with knowledge. This challenges the “stock" approach towards knowledge
management, which seems to address only the management level of the organization.
A contribution is also made in exploring the state-of-the-art of the emerging field of
persuasive design. Persuasive design aims at enabling designers to create designs that
deliberately change the user’s attitude or behavior. According to this new design tradition,
the designer specifically designs with the aim of behavior transformation. The goal is a
deliberate behavioral change, rather than supporting a set of existing tasks or a set of
existing behaviors. The work presented shows how persuasive design is a very conceptual
area of research, and that it is not a fitting approach for attaining a higher degree of
participation in computer systems for knowledge sharing and creation. Persuasive design is
thus not the remedy for the many problems found that prevent knowledge sharing from
taking place |
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